I wanted to hear peoples thoughts on the possibility of a dealer saying "it seemed like there may have been some clouding in the oil, but it WAS NOT a big issue and they just wanted to watch it. They did not feel that it was something that would affect the boats performance. According to XXX, it wasn't much of a concern at all"

Is that even possible? Seems like a pretty big deal to me and I would have wanted to know BEFORE I purchased a boat.

There is a slight possibility that some cloudiness in the oil is from condensation that had accumulated over a long period of sitting. It should be gone after a couple hours of running at the very most and the oil should then just look like oil. Most likely it is a big problem that would require an engine rebuild because oil should just look like oil.

Hopefully it is as Art said. I've not had it happen to my boat but one of my motorcycles tend to build a little condensation when it sits for too long....it burns off after the engine has run at temp for a good 10 minutes. Not an issue in that circumstance. Check the oil after its been running at temp...unless it's more white than oil...then change it...which I hope would be obvious even to the dealer.

Also, if you are going to spend 25k+ on a used boat from a dealer, I would expect them to put up some kind of warranty, 30-60 day engine/drive sort of thing. Nothing to cover amps, rips/tears, gel, or physical damage- but they should stand behind their mechanics.